A World Without Lights
by SilverJem5
Summary: Ever since the Switch, the world's electricity has mysteriously been extinguished. Chaos reigns in the streets, and militias form, with different groups taking power. Will and Jem have risen to power in their sector, and seek to restore peace and prosperity, despite their differences in viewpoints. However, it may not be easy, with rebels, food shortages and upcoming wars looming.
1. Prologue

It all started one beautiful evening. The air was crisp, the temperature perfect. But bad things always seemed to happen when one was unsuspecting.

Jem and Will had been hanging out at Jem's uncle, Elias's, house for the weekend. They'd been playing COD on Xbox, and Will had been grinning ferociously when he saw he was winning, and by quite a long way. That was the reason why he was so disappointed when the TV suddenly turned off, the screen going blank without any warning whatsoever. He and Jem exchanged a look, Jem's expression slightly relieved, and Will's frustrated.

"Maybe it disconnected?" Jem suggested, his black hair disappearing behind the TV as he went to check the cords.

"I don't know, but we better not have to start all over again," Will groaned with an annoyed scowl.

Jem didn't reply to this, and kept fiddling with the cords and the power point. "It all seems fine to me, I don't understand what happened." Will could hear the bewilderment in Jem's voice, so he got up off the couch to have a look.

That's when Jem noticed the usual digital time on the oven had disappeared, and the fridge light had gone out. He pointed this out to Will. "I have a bad feeling about this," Jem said, rubbing his arm as if he had goose bumps.

Will agreed, rushing around to try the cooking equipment. Nothing worked, and he realised the kitchen light wouldn't turn on either. "The power must be out," he concluded.

"There's a power box outside," Jem said, finding a solar powered torch and heading outside. Will followed, and they both jumped when they heard a scream pierce the silence. It was coming from outside on the street. Before Will could stop him, Jem raced outside with the torch, and Will ran after him.

What they found stopped them cold. The street was eerily dark, with not a light on in sight. The houses and street lights were pitch black, and the sight made Will shiver with apprehension. People started running around the street in shock. Some asking questions, while others shouting – rather unhelpfully - that the power was out.

"We're not going to solve anything standing out here," Jem pointed out after spending some time unsuccessfully fiddling with the power box. "Maybe we should just get some sleep and see if it's fixed in the morning."

Will couldn't fault Jem's logic and agreed, although he wasn't sure how much sleep he'd actually get.

As they lay in the two guest beds, Will listened to the outraged voices outside, and wondered what surprises the morning would bring.

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><p>Jem spoke the words Will had been thinking all night and morning. "Something's definitely wrong."<p>

They had tried everything when they got up, but like before, nothing was working. Will had never thought about it before, but the world really did revolve around electricity. Cars were the main form of transportation, phones the main mean of communication, and stoves and ovens the best equipment for cooking. He didn't know how people would even be able to live without it, they used it so much.

As Will pondered this, they trudged towards the main street, on Jem's suggestion. At least there they might find out what was going on, and get some help.

However, when they arrived it was chaos, like the period where people rushed to get everything together before a tornado was about to hit. Everyone ran around yelling and breaking into the shops that lined the main street.

As Will and Jem watched on, a man threw bricks at a pharmacy, and he and his friends jumped in through the cracks in the window. People streamed out of the supermarket, carrying armfuls of groceries, like chipmunks gathering their stores of nuts before the winter hit. A homeless man sat on the ground with a sign stating cheerful things, such as; "the end of the world is near," and that "the time of judgement has come."

Will turned to Jem, his heart still thudding painfully in shock. "We should get some food too."

Jem protested at the idea of stealing just as Will knew he would. "We can't be like them. Soon all the food will be gone, and people that haven't come will have nothing. They'll starve!"

Will's eyes hardened. "Well, that won't be us. We need food to survive, Jem. No one's going to give it to us, so we'll have to take it. It's survival of the fittest in this world." _Oh how true his words were. Soon they'd be the mantra that he repeated every day when he woke up in the morning._

Will grabbed Jem's arm and pulled him towards the grocery store before he could argue. Will was jostled and elbowed by the hungry mob as he fought his way towards the entrance. The good thing about being younger was that they could duck between people.

Inside was just as much of a battlefield. Wide eyed adults grabbed anything they could find and carry, while kids shrieked from between their legs. Prices meant nothing anymore, and there were no staff in sight anyway. Will saw two men both clutching a large bag of chips, neither one wanting to let go.

"We need to get things with a long expiry date, and which we can use more than once," Jem advised from behind him. Will nodded, and continued to lead him towards the tinned food section.

"These last a while," Will said as he grabbed some baked beans and other assorted cans and stuffed them in his bag. Jem followed suit, and they soon had a large amount of tins. Next they got some bottled water and anything else that could come in handy, such as a pocket knife, some first aid supplies and a tin opener.

When Will felt like they had enough, they ran back towards the doors to get outside. At the entrance, a line was forming, since not everyone could fit through the doorway at once.

A man stopped Jem in his tracks, and grabbed a hold of his bag. "I'll take that," he drawled with a smirk. "Thanks for packing it for me."

Jem looked taken aback, so Will stepped forward and grabbed hold of the other end, tugging on the bag. "Give it back, we got these. You get your own."

The man snarled about kids and how ungrateful they were, and he punched Will in the cheek. Will's face was thrust to the side, and he held his stinging cheek in shock. The pain was nothing compared to his anger, however, as the man turned away in triumph, holding the bag up like a trophy.

Will's fists clenched, and he flipped open his pocket knife, swiping at the man's arm hard enough to draw blood. The man's eyes opened in surprise, and he instinctively dropped the bag as a reaction to the sudden pain. Will swooped down, grabbed it, and ran, checking to make sure Jem was following.

As they found a corner to hide behind, Will drew in a few ragged breaths. "That was a close one."

"Will, are you crazy?" Jem whispered. "He could have killed you. He was twice your size."

Will waved Jem's concerns away. "I did what I had to do. It's fine. _We're_ fine."

He expected Jem to scold him more, but he saw Jem's eyes light up with an idea instead. "There's something else at my uncle's house that I have a feeling we may need in the future."

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><p>Back at the house, Jem led Will to a display on the wall. It held two golden swords with a single-edged blade, which glittered when the sun shone on them.<p>

"These are dao, or Chinese swords. They were passed down from my mother's side of the family," Jem explained, his voice soft and respectful.

Will knew that Jem's parents had died in a car accident when he'd been younger, so he could understand the sentimental value that these swords – dao - must hold. Will took one off the shelf, and fit his hand in the grip, testing the weight. He was surprised to find his hand fit quite well, and he practised slashing the air, feeling the breeze whoosh past him. "It feels good."

Jem took the other one off the wall, and said, "Normally swordcraft would take many years to master. Unfortunately we are just going to have to make do. Although I'm hoping we'll never need to use these."

Will tucked his into a makeshift belt he'd made for it. "As you said, I have a feeling we will need to use these, sooner rather than later."

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><p><strong>AN: So I hoped you enjoyed the prologue. The next chapters will skip forward into the future, so please keep reading because it will continue to get better!**

**~ SilverJem5**


	2. Chapter 1 - The Rescue

**Responses to Reviews:**

**Guest:**** Thank you! You'll have to read on to find out :)**

**thedarkwhiteangel:**** Yay, your curiosity is great! Tessa will definitely be in it, as you will see this chapter. I posted quickly just for you! ;)**

**SmoochiePooh:**** Do you remember the name of the book, just out of interest? Thank you so much for your review, it has really helped me to see where I need to explain things better. I'm hoping to be able to clear up the details in the next chapter (although in this one a little too). It's supposed to be set in present day. **

**Marie E. Brooke:**** Thank you for all your comments, they're all really helpful. I did rush the prologue a bit, so I may go back and fix it up later.**

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><p><strong>Three months later<strong>

To escape the chaos, Jem and Will had been hiding out in the woods nearby. It was the only place they felt reasonably safe, as they only had to worry about the animals which prowled at night. Will found humans more horrendous and scary than animals in the current circumstances. It reminded him of a quote from a book he had read, called Killing Me Softly, which was written by Maggie Shayne:

"_I've never believed there is any animal more dangerous than a human being. I never will. It's the intelligence. It's the mind that makes it so." _

He felt a pang of sadness at the thought of no new books ever being printed again, but he pushed the feeling aside. There was no time to think of such things, as survival took precedence over every thought and need.

It was good to know he had Jem by his side, his every steady presence helped to calm Will's torrent of thoughts and emotions. Will's own family, or what was left of them anyway, lived in another country and he had no way to get to them, now that walking was their only means of transportation. Everyone had quickly learnt that the cars didn't work without a spark in the motor to start them. He could only hope his parents and sister, Cecily, were alright, and had enough food to eat.

Jem was his family now, and Will didn't know what he'd do without him. It would certainly be a lonely existence out here by himself, with only the trees for company.

The sound of arguing and a girl's shriek jolted Will out of his thoughts. They sounded close by, which was surprising given Will had absolutely no idea where they were or where the closest city was. He didn't even need to glance at Jem to know he heard it too, and they both set off in the direction of the sound.

Will could see two people in the distance, and he and Jem crept closer, using the foliage as cover. They crouched behind a bush, and carefully looked around it to see what was going on.

A young girl, who looked around his own age of seventeen, was being held around her neck by an older man. She struggled helplessly, as she tried to break his grip. Will's breath caught as his attention was captivated by the girl. She was undeniably beautiful, like a spider web glittering with the early morning dew. Her hair was long and brown, and he could just make out her grey eyes, which were currently the colour of clouds when a storm was brewing.

The man shoved her up against a tree, and Will saw her wince as the air was knocked out of her. As the man leaned in to kiss her, Will leaped out from behind the bush, rage tinting his vision red. He heard Jem call out his name, but his attention was focused solely on the man.

The girl looked up at the sound and her gaze fixed with surprise on Will. This caused the man to turn in annoyance. He growled, the sound low in his throat, and his expression urged Will to turn away now, before he got hurt. Once again, Will compared humans to animals, as this man acted no better than one.

Despite his glare, Will strode up to him, his stance tense and ready to fight.

"Let the girl go," Will said, his voice deadly calm, but danger underlined his tone.

"And who's going to make me? Two young kids?" he said with a laugh, his gaze flicking between Will and Jem, who had emerged from behind the shrubbery.

Will's hand instinctively curved around the hilt of his sword, which was wrapped in a cloth to keep it hidden from prying eyes, since they didn't want to be the subject of muggings. He whipped it out and held it to the man's throat. It glinted gold in the sun now that the cloth had fallen away.

"Let her go, and you'll live," Will ground out between clenched teeth.

The man's eyes widened in shock, but he didn't dare to move as Will positioned the sword's edge so that a hint of blood was drawn in a warning. Will felt Jem beside him, backing him up.

The man slowly released his hold on the girl, and Jem drew her away from him, to safety. Jem positioned his body between the girl and the man protectively.

Will eyed the man with disgust. "You animal! Preying on a girl like that. Where's your sense of humanity?"

The man laughed bitterly. "It vanished the same instance the police did. We men rule the world now. It's ours for the taking!"

Will spat on the ground. "We'll see about that."

Suddenly, the man whipped out a knife and swiped at Will, his arm reach long enough since Will was standing so close. Jem's warning was too late as Will felt the bite of the knife as it left a mark on his chest. Before the man could to any more damage, Will hit him, hard, with the pommel of his sword and he dropped like a sack of potatoes.

Will gazed down at him, his face blank and expressionless. "That'll teach him to call us kids." He returned his sword to his makeshift belt.

Jem rushed over and pulled Will away from him, looking for the injury. "It's nothing, just a cut," Will said, pushing him away.

The girl came over and inspected it. She lifted his torn shirt, and ran her fingers over the cut. Will tensed as her fingers brushed him. Feeling this, she pulled away and straightened, her cheeks tinted slightly pink. "That knife was rusty, you should disinfect the wound."

If Will was surprised at the girl's medical knowledge, he hid it well.

"I'm Tessa, by the way," she stated, holding out her hand. "Thanks for helping me out."

Will shook it, gazing into her eyes which had calmed to the colour of fog in the morning. "I'm Will, and this is Jem." Jem also shook her hand with a welcoming smile.

After the introductions were finished, Jem recovered their bags and took out the first aid kit that they'd taken from the shop all those months ago.

Tessa snatched it from him before he could even open it. She scrutinised the items inside, and then pulled out a cloth to hold over the cut, and applied pressure until the bleeding stopped. She then cleaned it by pouring some hydrogen peroxide onto a cotton swab, after which used to dab on the cut. Will watched as she dabbed it ever so gently, to help reduce the sting it caused. Lastly, she pulled out a large bandage and squirted some cream onto it. She carefully positioned it over the cut and then stuck it on. Will tried not to wince as the icy cold cream touched the cut.

"There, now just try and keep it clean so it can heal," Tessa said, her voice soft but sure.

"Thank you," Will said with a grateful smile.

She inclined her head, and then gazed around the forest, her expression suddenly looking lost. "I need to get back," she said, her voice urgent. "My brother will be worried."

Will tried to hide his disappointment at the fact she wouldn't be staying with them. They could always use an extra person after all.

While he was still thinking of how to ask, Jem beat him to it. "Are you sure you want to go back? You're welcome to come with us."

Tessa shook her head. "My brother is the only family I have left. I can't abandon him."

Jem nodded in understanding. "We'll help you find him then. Do you know which way you came from?"

Tessa bit her lip, looking unsure. "That monster dragged me out here. I think it was that direction," she said, pointing towards the south. Will could tell this with the compass they had taken from Elias's house.

Will started off in the direction, calling back over his shoulder "Let's go that way then. I'm sure we'll find your home eventually."

While Will was loathe to go back to the human infested wasteland, as he now called it, and leave the forest, he knew he would do it for Tessa.

Today had proven to him how bad the world had become in only three months, and it was only going to get worse as time went on and food became scarcer. People needed rules, and more than that, they needed strong leaders, unwilling to compromise on the important matters.

Straightening his back, Will walked with a new purpose. He supposed it was time for them to re-enter society.

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><p><strong>AN: The next chapter will be three years later when Will and Jem are in charge, which is where the rest of the story will be set, so it will all change quite drastically. Thank you once again to my four reviewers.**

**~ SilverJem5**


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